About this Operation

Operation Documents

Budget Revisions

Resource Situation

This Operation has been modified as per Budget Revision 9 (see below).

In Cuba, which imports 80 percent of its food, iron-deficiency anaemia is the commonest nutritional disorder: recent studies by the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene show that anaemia prevalence in the eastern region is 56.7 percent among children under 2 and 20.1 percent in children aged 2–5.

Development project 10589.0 will concentrate on the five eastern provinces identified as most vulnerable to food insecurity, supporting the National Plan on Prevention and Control of Anaemia to reduce anaemia to 15 percent by 2015. WFP and the Government have agreed a two-track strategy: WFP will provide iron-rich food and enhance local capacity to produce them in support of anaemic children; the aim is to extend access to an affordable food basket, establish production of enriched blended flour, improve household consumption patterns and support a phase-down.

There are three main components. The first targets aged 6–36 months to ensure access to a fortified food complement to meet daily iron requirements and to ensure that enriched food complements are consumed daily. The second component has the same objectives, focusing on children aged 4 and 5. The third contributes to the sustainable development of local production of micronutrient-enriched food supplements, communication to influence the nutritional behaviour of families, monitoring and nutritional surveillance, development of long-term production of micronutrient-enriched food supplements, a social communication strategy for household consumption patterns and nutritional surveillance.

The Government is committed to taking over the project and phasing in its own resources once local production capacity has increased; the cost- effectiveness of producing cereal-based food supplements guarantees financial feasibility. The handover of WFP assistance for children aged 6–12 months and for those aged 4 and 5 is planned for the end of the third year. During the first three years, national capacity will be consolidated so that local counterparts will be able to take over.

The project design is based on recommendations by the 2004 mid-term evaluation and the 2007 self-evaluation; it included a joint problem analysis by United Nations agencies and agreement on coordination. The project is integrated into three of the five national priority areas of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework; it is in line with Millennium Development Goals 1, 4 and 5, Strategic Objectives 3 and 5, priority area 1 of the Consolidated Framework of WFP Policies, WFP’s Enhanced Commitment to Women and regional development project 10421.0.

In accordance with the concentration country list, WFP multilateral contributions will cover only assistance to children aged 6–36 months. The budget under regular resources is US$6.4 million, covering the food needs of 254,600 beneficiaries for five years – only part of the needs.

Directed multilateral or bilateral contributions mobilized by the Government and WFP will cover assistance to children aged 4 and 5, enhancement of local production, monitoring and communications. The project will be integrated into national priorities and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, so the Government has decided to present it in rounds of negotiation with new and traditional donors.

WFP will seek additional funding to meet the estimated requirement of US$5.2 million for an estimated107,000 beneficiaries and for capacity-building.